Africa’s representative of the World Bank’s Global Coordination Board of the Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network, Raphael Obonyo, has urged the youth to come out strongly and start questioning the bad leadership and poor legislations in the country that has made corruption thrive.

Obonyo, who was speaking during the just concluded Utumishi Bora Awards, where he has feted the Exemplary Leadership award for his contribution in mentorship and youth empowerment, maintained that  Corruption, poor governance, and bad laws have locked the youth out of and jobs, subsequently thrusting them in a cycle of endless poverty.

“The youth can change this by questioning bad leadership and bad laws, choosing into leadership positions leaders of integrity; leaders that can be counted upon and who carry the aspirations of Kenya’s youth at heart,” Raphael Obonyo said.

“I do not view this award as recognition of my accomplishments, but I see it as a call to action – a call to do more, and to do better. This award carries with it the aspirations of Kenya’s youth, and reflects the country that young people would seek to build,” He said in his acceptance speech.

The Utumishi Bora Awards is a product of the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF), a group of Christian professionals whose mission is to influence the development of a legal and social environment that is supportive of Christian values.

Corruption is and still remains arguably the greatest challenge to Kenya’s social economic development, sadly graft continues to reach greater heights by day as leaders loot public coffers with blatant impunity at the expense of wananchi, majority who are now forced to survive on one meal a day, as those who are not lucky enough have no choice but to go to bed hungry.

Unemployment also continues to be a major crisis in Kenya with the youth, who comprise 75 percent of the country’s population being the worst hit. Companies are also closing shop in the country or downsizing due to a high cost of doing business and dozens of Kenyans are losing their jobs at a time when the system should be creating more jobs.

Inflation has peaked in the last eight months due to a high cost of food and in every street or business center you set foot in the question every mwananchi is asking the other is “kwenu kumekauka kama huku?”/ are things just as tough, dry rather, on your end as it is here? And the only hope people have is that maybe, just maybe after the 2017 elections things will get better.